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santa clara neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Bowers/Monroe, Santa Clara Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
About 2,640 mostly single-story 1950s houses on 5,000 to 7,000 sq ft lots around the Bowers Avenue and Monroe Street crossroads, between El Camino Real and the Walsh Avenue industrial blocks.
Bowers/Monroe by the numbers
bowers/monroe by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Bowers/Monroe: El Camino Real to the Walsh Ave industrial blocks, Calabazas Creek to San Tomas Expwy (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in bowers/monroe · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Bowers/Monroe
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Bowers/Monroe from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Bowers/Monroe: El Camino Real to the Walsh Ave industrial blocks, Calabazas Creek to San Tomas Expwy (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Bowers/Monroe came to be
Bowers/Monroe is one of the neighborhood names on the City of Santa Clara's 2022 redistricting maps, and it is named for the two streets that cross in its middle. Before the subdivisions this was rural land in the Jefferson Union School District, which built a new Jefferson School at Lawrence and Monroe in 1927. Santa Clara itself stayed small for a long time: the census counted 6,650 people in 1940, 11,702 in 1950 and 58,880 in 1960. Most of that jump happened in neighborhoods like this one.
The houses came in a run of small subdivisions. County record maps inside these boundaries carry names like Santa Clara Gardens and Walnut Acres near El Camino Real and San Tomas Expressway, El Rancho Camino (seven units) between Calabazas Boulevard and Bowers Avenue, Bowers Crest and Bowers Park (five units) between Cabrillo Avenue and Monroe Street, Green Vale Manor and Alhambra Gardens north of Monroe Street, and Bonnie Brae Homes east of Bowers. County build dates run from the early 1950s near El Camino to the early 1960s east of Bowers. The schools followed the rooftops: Bowers Elementary opened in 1957, Bracher Elementary in 1958, and Juan Cabrillo Middle and Wilcox High in 1961.
A smaller second wave came in 1971-73, when the South Drive Park and Mission Glen tracts filled the land around South Drive with townhomes. Since then most change has come at the edges. El Camino Real, along the south side, is covered by the city's El Camino Real Specific Plan, and newer townhomes and condos have replaced older commercial lots there, while bigger proposals sit on shopping-center sites across El Camino and on the industrial blocks to the north.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
The plan is mostly short blocks, courts and cul-de-sacs hung off a few through streets: Monroe Street east-west through the middle, Bowers Avenue north-south, Cabrillo Avenue past the park and the middle school, and Warburton Avenue near El Camino. Tract themes show on the street signs. Around Bowers Crest the streets take California place names (San Rafael, Santa Maria, Ventura, San Juan, Monterey). Green Vale Manor, north of Monroe around Bracher Elementary, went with rocks and landforms: Agate, Amethyst, Borax, Crystal, Chromite, Moraine, Painted Rock and Pilot Knob. East of Bowers you get Bonnie, Dundee and Tartan, and near San Tomas Expressway, Coolidge and Hoover.
The housing is remarkably uniform. County records list about 2,640 single-family houses, roughly 88% of them one story; about two-thirds have three bedrooms and about a quarter have four. Lots are typically 4,800 to 7,000 square feet. Only about a dozen houses carry build dates after 2000, so change here has mostly meant remodels, rear additions and about 300 second stories rather than block-wide rebuilds. Expect a one-story 1950s ranch house as the starting point, in every state from original to fully redone.
The townhomes are concentrated north of Monroe near South Drive, in the South Drive Park and Mission Glen tracts (about 280 parcels, 1971-73). There are also a few 1950s and 1960s duplexes and small apartment buildings near El Camino Real and San Tomas Expressway, and along El Camino newer infill, such as the 60 three-story townhomes the city lists as completed at 3155 El Camino Real.
streets in bowers/monroe
- Monroe Street
- Bowers Avenue
- Cabrillo Avenue
- Warburton Avenue
- Barkley Avenue
- Mark Avenue
- Millar Avenue
- Taper Avenue
- Santa Cruz Avenue
- San Rafael Avenue
- Santa Maria Avenue
- Monterey Avenue
- San Juan Avenue
- Brown Avenue
- Francis Avenue
- Larsen Place
- Augusta Place
- Bonnie Drive
- Dundee Drive
- Tartan Drive
- Quinn Avenue
- Elliot Street
- South Drive
- Coolidge Drive
- Hoover Drive
- Chromite Drive
- Agate Drive
- Amethyst Drive
- Borax Drive
- Crystal Drive
- Moraine Drive
- Painted Rock Drive
- Pilot Knob Drive
- Alhambra Drive
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Bowers/Monroe
- park
Bowers Park
7.6 acres at 2582 Cabrillo Avenue, beside Bowers Elementary (city park GIS); OpenStreetMap shows a playground and restrooms. The city's skate park (2450 Cabrillo Avenue) and the Walter E. Schmidt Youth Activity Center and Teen Center (2446 Cabrillo Avenue) are a short walk east, by Cabrillo Middle School.
- park
Bracher Park
3.5 acres at 2560 Alhambra Drive at the north end of the neighborhood (city park GIS); OpenStreetMap shows a playground, a basketball court and fitness equipment.
- park
Everett N. "Eddie" Souza Park
1.8 acres at 2380 Monroe Street near San Tomas Expressway (city park GIS); OpenStreetMap shows playgrounds, picnic tables and a dog area.
- shopping
El Camino Real
The south edge is the El Camino Real commercial strip, with VTA's 22 and Rapid 522 buses. Across the street, the 14-acre Moonlite center at 2610 El Camino Real has a redevelopment application pending (city development-project map).
- landmark
Central Park and Central Park Library
Santa Clara's 40-acre Central Park (909 Kiely Boulevard) and the Central Park Library (2635 Homestead Road) are about 1.2 to 1.4 miles south (straight line), straight down Bowers Avenue, which becomes Kiely Boulevard south of El Camino.
- landmark
Triton Museum of Art
The Triton Museum of Art at 1505 Warburton Avenue is about 1.2 miles east (straight line), near the Civic Center.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Bowers/Monroe is in the Santa Clara Unified School District for TK-12; Census school-district boundaries and the city's parcel data agree. Four district campuses sit inside the neighborhood: Bowers Elementary (2755 Barkley Avenue), Bracher Elementary (2700 Chromite Drive), Juan Cabrillo Middle (2550 Cabrillo Avenue) and Adrian Wilcox High (3250 Monroe Street). Briarwood Elementary is just west across Calabazas Creek on Townsend Avenue, and Scott Lane Elementary is east of San Tomas Expressway. Attendance boundaries change, so confirm the assigned schools for a specific address with the district.
Getting around
- VTA Route 21 runs along Monroe Street, to the Santa Clara Transit Center one way and Mountain View and Palo Alto the other; Route 57 runs on Bowers Avenue north to Mission College and the Old Ironsides light rail station. Check VTA for current schedules.
- VTA Route 22 and Rapid 522 stop on El Camino Real along the south edge (city transit GIS).
- Lawrence Caltrain station, just over the line in Sunnyvale, is about 1.2 miles from the middle of the neighborhood; Santa Clara station downtown is about 2.3 miles (both straight line).
- US 101 is about 1.7 miles north (straight line) via Bowers Avenue, which becomes Great America Parkway, or via San Tomas Expressway; Central and Lawrence expressways are close, and Kiely Boulevard runs south toward Stevens Creek Boulevard and I-280.
- San Jose Mineta International Airport is about 2.6 miles east (straight line).
- By bike or on foot, the San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail runs along San Tomas Expressway at the east edge (OpenStreetMap) and continues north past Levi's Stadium toward the Bay.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Bowers/Monroe: what we check
Buying here
- Check the flood map for the exact parcel. FEMA's current flood layer (dated September 2024 on the city's GIS) puts roughly 260 parcels on the east side, near San Tomas Expressway, in zone AO (shallow flooding, 1-foot depth) and a handful beside Calabazas Creek in zone A. Both are special flood hazard areas where lenders generally require flood insurance. Most other blocks are in the 0.2-percent-annual-chance zone. Get the zone, any elevation certificate and an insurance quote early.
- Expect 1950s systems. Ask about the electrical panel and wiring, any original plumbing, the heating system and the water heater, and have the sewer lateral scoped.
- Most houses are zoned R1-6L. Before you plan a second story, an ADU or an SB 9 split, check the city's current standards and review steps. Only about 11% of houses here are two-story today.
- For the 1970s townhomes in South Drive Park and Mission Glen, read the HOA documents: reserves, roof and siding history, and what the association maintains versus the owner.
- Look at what is planned nearby. The city's project map lists a pending redevelopment of the 14-acre Moonlite center at 2610 El Camino Real, 118 townhomes proposed at 2490 El Camino Real, and a large office proposal at 2300-2350 Walsh Avenue on the north edge.
Selling here
- Name the tract. Buyers and the MLS use names like El Rancho Camino, Bowers Crest, Bowers Park, Green Vale Manor and South Drive Park, so put yours in the listing.
- Document your flood zone. If the parcel is in zone X, a FEMA map printout settles the question; if it is in zone AO or A, an elevation certificate and an insurance quote help buyers price it.
- Gather permits and final sign-offs for additions, garage conversions and second stories; on a 1950s house buyers will ask what was added and when.
- Pre-inspect the old-house items (sewer lateral video, electrical panel, roof) so repairs are priced before the offers arrive.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Bowers/Monroe questions, answered
Where are the boundaries of Bowers/Monroe?
This guide uses El Camino Real on the south, San Tomas Expressway on the east, Calabazas Creek and Calabazas Boulevard on the west, and the edge of the industrial blocks along Walsh Avenue and Agate Drive on the north. The city's neighborhood map may draw some edges differently, so check any address near a line.
When were most of the homes built?
County records date about 80% of the single-family homes to the 1950s and most of the rest to the 1960s; the median is 1957. The townhomes in South Drive Park and Mission Glen date to 1971-73.
What are the subdivision names here?
Recorded tracts inside the neighborhood include El Rancho Camino, Bowers Crest, Bowers Park, Green Vale Manor, Alhambra Gardens, Bonnie Brae Homes, Santa Clara Gardens, Walnut Acres, Mission Glen and South Drive Park. Several of these are also MLS area names.
Is Bowers/Monroe in a flood zone?
Parts of it. On FEMA's current map, blocks on the east side near San Tomas Expressway are in zone AO and a few lots beside Calabazas Creek are in zone A, both special flood hazard areas. Most of the rest is in the 0.2-percent-annual-chance zone. Check the exact parcel.
Which school district serves Bowers/Monroe?
Santa Clara Unified School District, TK-12. Bowers and Bracher elementary schools, Cabrillo Middle School and Wilcox High School are all inside the neighborhood. Confirm the assigned schools for any address with the district, since boundaries change.
How far is Caltrain?
Lawrence station, just inside Sunnyvale, is about 1.2 miles from the center of the neighborhood and Santa Clara station downtown about 2.3 miles (straight line). VTA Route 21 on Monroe Street runs to the Santa Clara Transit Center.
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about Bowers/Monroe? Let's run your numbers.
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